Electrical wire puller



y 17, 1956 L. F. MALLASCH ELECTRICAL WIRE FULLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1954 INVENTOR. 44/72/52 A MALL/056k WM F. MALLASCH ELECTRICAL wiRE FULLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR. .4 0/2/52 5 M44 4 456A July 17, 1956 Filed Sept. 27, 1954 United States Patent ELECTRICAL WIRE PULLER Luther F. Mallasch, Glendale, Calif.

Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,431

9 Claims. (Cl. 254-1343) This invention relates to devices for pulling electrical wire through conduits, and particularly to a puller which is motor powered by a standard electrical drill.

Electrical wire pullers, sometimes referred to as fish tape pullers, are well known, a puller of this type being disclosed and claimed in my United States Patent No. 2,599,929, of June 10, 1952. This prior fish tape puller is adapted to fit into a terminal box and be operated by a hand lever. It was found that in many instances where conduits were particularly long or of small diameter, a greater pull was required than that obtainable by a'handoperated device. Thus, the present invention is a wire puller powered by a standard drill, and which has been found to pull wire over any practical distance and through conduits where it would be practically impossible to pull the wire by hand. It may also be used for other purposes, such as a hoist when anchored at an elevation.

The unit may be held by hand and controlled by the trigger switch of the drill, or it may be mounted on a stand with a remote switch extending to the point of entrance of the wire into the conduit.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to facilitate the pulling of wires through conduits.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved powered wire pulling device for lead tapes of electrical wires.

A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical tape or wire pulling device which is power operated.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention, both as to the manner of its organization and the mode of its operation, will be better understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view showing the wire puller mounted in a terminal box;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view showing the wire puller mounted in a terminal box;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the connecting fork of the unit.

Referring now to the drawings in which the same nomerals identify like elements, a substantially square mounting plate 5 has a curved side 6 which has been notched as shown at 7 for holding the unit in a terminal box 8 regardless of size. The plate has a projection 12 along the side of which, and along a portion of the curved side of plate 5, is an open grooved tape guide 13, which may be welded or bolted to the plate 5, the guide terminating at a point adjacent a tape reel 14.

The plate 5 is adapted to be mounted on a stand, or tripod, not shown, the upper portion of which has a hollow shaft 16 into which a rod 17 telescopes, the rod 17 being attached to the plate in different angular positions by toothed collars 18 and 19, which may be adjusted with respect to one another. The collars are held in assembled "ice position on an extension 21 by wing nut 22. A set screw 23 adjusts the height of the unit.

In the central portion of the plate 5 is located a bearing 24 within which is mounted the shoulder 25 of a driving plate 26. This driving plate has a circular portion 28 and a square portion 29, although it is to be understood that the portion 29 may be triangular or octagonal in shape, depending upon the internal opening in the reel 14. A threaded shaft 30 extends through the plate 26 and is welded to a disc 31. The plate 26 is internally threaded on the shaft 30 and additionally held by means of a nut 33 and washer 34. Thus, any rotation of the disc 31 will rotate the driving plate 26.

Also, welded to the plate 31 is a shaft 36 having a splined portion 37 and a threaded portion 38. Attached to one face of the disc 31 is a friction disc 40 which bears against the face of a sprocket wheel 41 rotatable on shaft 36. On the other side of the sprocket wheel 41 is another friction disc 42, which is attached to the face of a second disc 43, the disc 43 having a cylindrical collar portion 45 internally splined and mounted within a bearing 46. The bearing 46 is mounted in a U bracket 47 attached by screws 47' to the plate 5. To control the friction between the friction discs 40 and 42 and the surfaces of the sprocket wheel 41, a nut 48 and washer 49 on threaded portion 38 are used. By tightening or loosening this nut, a greater or lesser amount of friction is obtainable between the friction disc surfaces and the surfaces of the sprocket wheel to control the amount of torque applied to the driving plate 26.

The sprocket wheel 41 is driven by a chain 50 around a driving sprocket wheel 51 on a shaft 52. The shaft 52 is connected to gears in a speed reduction gear box 54,

a shaft of which is attached to a standard inch drill 55. This size drill has been mentioned since it has been found to'have sufiicient power for all but the heaviest type of work, the puller being adaptable to take a larger size dn'll if required. Drill 55 has two handles 56 and 57, the handle 57 having the usual trigger switch 58 in a guard 59. The drill is mounted on the plate 5 by an adjustable clamp 60, having rods 61 and 62 attached to the plate 5 by nuts 63 and 64. The other ends of the rods 61 and 62 are threaded and by clamping members 66 and 67, nuts 68 and 69 and wing nuts 70 and 71, the cylindrical section 73 of the drill is held in position. The shaft 75 is held in chuck portion 74 of the drill.

Referring now to the reel 14, it is shown in Fig. 4 having two similar thin metal sections 77 and 78 which are welded together at their surfaces of contact. A wire puller tape 80 is shown within the reel 14. The outer annular sections of the reel 14 are flexible, which permits the tape 80 to pass in and out of the reel when under a certain amount of tension. Normally, the tape is held within the reel. As shown in the drawings, the center portion of the reel is square, although as mentioned above, it could have a triangular or octagonal configuration, the portion 29 of the driving plate 26 being of a similar configuration so the reel may be mounted thereon and driven thereby. The reel 14 is held on the driving plate 26 by a rotatable clamp 32 mounted on the end of the shaft 30 by a screw 83, the clamp being rotatable by the fins 84.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the tape 80 is positioned in the guide 13 and is shown passing through a conduit 86, terminating in the terminal box 8. The forward end of the guide 13 has a forked construction so that the central tine 87 of the fork, having a curved outer surface, is within the conduit 36, while the two tine members 88 and 89 are on the outer surface of the conduit. This fork connection, in combination with the notches 7 on the rounded surface 6 of the plate 5, holds the plate 5 in position during the pulling operation. Also mounted on the plate 5 is an arm- 91, pivoted at 92, and which has at one end thereof a wheel 93 having a tapered edge as shown at 94. The purpose of this element is to separate the outer edges of sections 77 and 73 of the reel 14 to permit easy ingress and egress of the tape 80 during the initial tightening of the tape. After the tape has once been tightened, the wheel 93 may be moved out of position, as the tension in the tape will force it into the reel.

To operate the puller, the reel 14 is removed from the plate 26 and the end thereof fed through the conduit 86 in the normal manner. After the wires have been attached to the end of the tape 80, the tape is tightened by the operators hand in the opening of the guide 13, and the reel 14 then positioned on the driving plate 26 and fastened thereon by the clamp 82. The wheel 93 is then positioned as shown in Fig. 1 for the initial rotation of the reel 14 and the tape tightened as explained above. The plate is then placed in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 by the drill handle 57 and a rod handle 95 attached to plate 5 and the trigger switch 58 actuated. The tape is then wound on the reel 14 as it rotates.

The device may be also operated by first pushing the tape through the conduit 86 with the reel 14 removed from the driving plate 28. The device is then placed in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and mounted on its stand 1617. The reel 14 is attached to its driving plate 26. The operator may then move to the other end of the conduit 86, attach the wires, and by actuating a remote control drill switch at the other end of the conduit by his foot, start the wires into the conduit and guide them during the pulling operation.

There are several features of the device which facilitate its operation. First, the configuration of the opening in the reel, which is shown substantially square in the drawings but which may have other shapes with straight sides. The purpose of having straight sides is that not only does it provide a lock for the reel to its driving plate 26, but the operator may grasp the straight sides by hand and pull the tape by hand on easy pulls. Also, it makes it easier for the operator to tighten the tape before placing the reel on its driving plate 26.

Another feature is that the amount of torque applied by the drill 55 to the driving plate 26 is adjustable by the nut 48. The shape of the extension 12 permits the device to pull wires around corners by placing the corner 96 at the corner of a wall or other solid object. A further feature is the adaptability of the device as a hoist. This is accomplished by hanging the device on an extension through the hole 97 in the plate 5 and then attaching the tape to whatever element is to be lifted. The device has been constructed to provide the greatest pulling power per pound of weight and is easily handled by one operator.

Although the power unit may not be required in many instances, however, whenever the reel 14 is used for hand pulls and the pull is too great to be accomplished by hand, the power unit may be brought into use by attaching the reel 14 thereto to complete the pull. Thus, the combination of reel and its power unit provides a flexible tool for both hand and power use.

I claim:

1. A drive for pulling wire comprising a substantially square base plate, one edge and a portion of an adjacent edge of which is curved, said curved edge having a narrow projection extending perpendicularly from an adjoining fiat edge of said plate for entrance into an electrical terminal box, a rotatable drive shaft mounted through said plate, a drive plate on one end of said shaft having at least one fiat edge, a driving disc on said shaft, a drive wheel rotatably mounted on said shaft, a second disc on said shaft, a plurality of friction pads between said drive wheel and said discs, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said discs and said wheel, a wire pulling reel having a tape therein mounted on said driving plate and having a flat edge corresponding to the flat edge of said driving plate, and power means for driving said drive wheel, a portion of said curved edge being notched to hold said projection in said terminal box.

2. A drive for pulling wire comprising a substantially square base plate, one edge and a portion of an adjacent edge of which is curved, said curved edge having l, a narrow projection extending perpendicularly from an adjoining fiat edge of said plate for entrance into an electrical terminal box, a rotatable drive shaft mounted through said plate, a drive plate on one end of said shaft having at least one flat edge, a driving disc on said shaft, a drive wheel rotatably mounted on said shaft, a second disc on said shaft, a plurality of friction pads between said drive wheel and said discs, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said discs and said wheel, a wire pulling reel having a tape therein mounted on said driving plate and having a flat edge corresponding to the flat edge of said driving plate, power means for driving said drive wheel, a portion of said curved edge being notched to hold said projection in said terminal box, an open-sided grooved guide being positioned along one edge of said projection and a portion of said curved edge, the end of said guide being forked to contact a conduit in said terminal box to hold said projection in said terminal box.

3. A wire pulling device comprising a substantially square base plate, one edge and a portion of another edge of which is curved, said curved edge having a narrow projection extending perpendicularly from an adjoining flat edge of said plate for entrance into an electrical terminal box, a shaft rotatable in said base plate, a driving plate rotatable by said shaft and having at least one flat edge, a wire pulling tape reel mounted on said driving plate and having a fiat edge corresponding to the fiat edge of said driving plate, a grooved member along the edge of said projection and a portion of the curved edge of said base plate for guiding the tape on said reel from said reel to the end of said projection positioned in said terminal box, a frictional clutch for rotating said driving plate in accordance with the torque provided by the friction in said clutch, and power means attached to said base plate for driving said clutch.

4. A powered wire puller, comprising a reel, a fiatsided tape adapted to be wound on said reel when said reel is rotated, a substantially square base plate, one edge and a portion of another adjacent edge of which is curved, said curved edge having a narrow projection extending perpendicularly from an adjoining fiat edge of said plate for entrance into an electrical terminal box, a driving plate mounted for rotation on said base plate and to which said reel is attachable, said driving plate and reel having at least one flat edge, a motor unit mounted on said base plate, and a clutch mechanically interconnecting said motor unit and said driving plate.

5. A powered wire puller in accordance with claim 4, in which said clutch includes a disc integrally connected to said driving plate, a friction pad on said disc, 21 sprocket wheel facing and in contact with said pad, a second disc, a friction pad on said second disc facing and in contact with said sprocket wheel, and means for varying the pressure between said pads and said sprocket wheel.

6. A powered wire puller in accordance with claim 5, in which a portion of said curved edge of said base plate is notched and a grooved tape guide is provided along the edge of said projection from the outer end of said projection in said terminal box to said reel.

7. A powered wire puller in accordance with claim 6. in which the end of said guide is forked to aid said notched edge to hold said base plate in position in said terminal box.

8. A drive for pulling wire comprising a substantially square base plate, one edge and a portion of an adjacent edge of which is curved, said curved edge having a narrow projection extending perpendicularly from an adjoining flat edge of said plate for entrance into an electrical terminal box, a rotatable drive shaft mounted through said plate, a drive plate on one end of said shaft having at least one flat edge, a driving disc on said shaft, a drive wheel rotatably mounted on said shaft, a second disc on said shaft, a plurality of friction pads between said drive Wheel and said discs, means for adjusting the contact pressure between said discs and said Wheel, a Wire pulling reel having a tape therein mounted on said driving plate and having a flat edge corresponding to the flat edge of said driving plate, and power means for driving said drive Wheel.

9. A Wire pulling device comprising a substantially square base plate, one edge and a portion of another edge of Which is curved, said curved edge having a narrow projection extending perpendicularly from an adjoining flat edge of said plate for entrance into an electrical terminal box, a shaft rotatable in said base plate, a driving plate rotatable by said shaft and having at least one fiat edge, a Wire pulling tape reel mounted on said driving plate, and having a flat edge corresponding to the flat edge of said driving plate, a grooved member along the edge of said projection and a portion of the curved edge of said base plate for guiding the tape on said reel from said reel to the end of said projection positioned in said terminal box, a frictional clutch for rotating said driving plate in accordance with the torque provided by the friction in said clutch, power means attached to said base plate for driving said clutch, said reel being composed of a flexible annular rim having an entrance to said reel less than the Width of said tape, means for separating the rim of said reel for providing easy ingress and egress of said tape to and from said reel, a portion of the curved edge of said base plate being notched and the outer edge of said grooved guide member being forked for holding said projection in a terminal box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,762,872 Manley June 10, 1932 2,501,096 Robins et al Mar. 21, 1950 2,556,484 Raney June 12, 1951 2,689,709 Waldschmidt Sept. 21, 1954 

